Goble Takes First-Place Twice at NMU Open

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team opened the season at the NMU Open at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Marquette, Michigan. The Huskies performed well across the two-day event, with the highlight of the weekend being the two first-place finishes by junior Sarah Goble.

A junior from Harbor Springs, Michigan, Goble took first in the Freestyle on Saturday with a time of 14:35.4, 7.3 seconds ahead of Northern Michigan's Nicole Schneider for second. Goble returned to the course on Sunday and finished first in the 10k Classic. Goble, who raced in the 5k Classic and the 15k Freestyle at the 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships, recorded a time of 33:58.4 to finish 3.6 seconds ahead of second-place Nadine Matter of Northern Michigan.

"We had a solid start to the official race season with the NMU Open," said head coach Thomas Smith. "There were a lot of highlights and positives from today's race, and we'll need to carry this momentum into the rest of the season."

The Michigan Tech men's team placed two skiers inside the top five and an additional five inside the top 15 of Saturday's freestyle race. Senior Gaspard Cuenot finished second with a time of 25:09.3, and sophomore Patrick Acton took fifth with a time of 26:00.7. Also performing well in the Freestyle was sophomore Reid Goble (9th, 26:50.2), junior David Jaszczak (10th, 26:57.4), freshman Kristoffer Vollset (11th, 27:04.8), sophomore Mark Ousdigian (13th, 27:24.1), sophomore and Somerset Schrock (14th, 27:30.5).

In Sunday's 15k classic race, Vollset (6th, 43:37.4), Gaspard (7th, 43:51.9), and Goble (9th, 44:16.3) all raced well for the Huskies as they finished inside the top 10. Senior Thomas Bye put in a solid performance on the course, crossing the finish line with a time of 45:31.0 to come in 13th, as did Schrock with a 15th-place finish in 45:52.6.

For the MTU women, Junior Amanda Kautzer finished sixth with a time of 15:05.7, and senior Erin Lipp placed 10th with a time of 15:56.1 to make it three Huskies inside the top 10. Freshmen Mary Lyon (12th, 16:30.5) and Oda Hovland (16th, 17:39.3) also performed well in their first collegiate Nordic ski races. On Sunday, Kautzer joined Goble inside the top five with a fourth-place finish at 33:58.4. Lipp (11th, 36:34.6), Lyon (13th, 37:26.1) and Hovland (14th, 37:28.1) also raced and finished strong for the Black and Gold.

The Huskies continue the start to their season next Saturday (Dec. 15) and Sunday (Dec. 16) at the Michigan Tech Trails for the MTU CXC Cup.

"We're really looking forward to hosting this even on our home trails," Smith said. "It'll be great to have alumni and friends of the program and the Houghton ski community in attendance this coming weekend."

The men will race first at 9:30 a.m. followed by the women at 11 a.m. on Saturday, while it will be flipped for Sunday's race with the women going first at 9 a.m. and the men racing at 11 a.m. For more information on the upcoming CXC Cup, click here.